3 days ago I got the information that Gary Nichols’ technicians will come and re-install the genset.

They used a smart approach to make sure the generator drive belt is well aligned.

An immediate test failed. Reason was momentarily unclear. As it was already late they left to come back.

Today they came back and it turned out the the main on-off switch had problem.

Bridging this switch and the engine started cranking. Bleeding the fuel system to get the air out and the engine started running again. Remote start-stop button works as well. General voltage was there as well.

I have now to install the newly painted enclosures then this system is back to normal and enables a normal life on board again.

Engine & saildrive repair is still not yet done. I was told they received several times the wrong part. True or not I can’t judge. Will they come this week?

Genset repair – I will ask today for the status of the machine shop work. Hopefully this is done. From my side all is ready for the-installation. The freshly spray painted covers of the genset look very nice.

Toilet hose exchange on PRT side is done. STB no need to exchange.

Mast track and mast cars maintenance is done. All cars are back in the track again. Mast steps, which i got mounted in August last year, proved to be very good. I can easily go up the mast and do work at any height of the mast. Securing myself is done with mountain climber equipment.

2 days ago i had a phone call with Gary. His chief technicians Maiker found the cause of the breaking of the parts after a run time is only about 10 h instead of several thousand.

The pulleys of the diesel motor and the generator are disaligned by about 2 – 3 mm in axial direction. This caused additional strain on the rubber of the damper which broke.

They now make a proper alignment at a machine shop and re-install the genset, the diesel-motor-generator unit, assembled on the base plate with a proper alignment.

Yesterday I completed the cleaning and refurbishing of the genset covers and internet structural sheet metal elements. Today I finish cleaning of the engine room area for the genset.

A few days ago Shi my Japanese sailing friend arrived despite that I told him MaRe is still on the hard and I don’t know when she returns back into her element, the water. As he always takes care of all matters in the pantry he is of great help because I don’t need to spent time preparing my food and keeping the kitchen clean.

As agreed upon last Friday, Gary send his 2 technician today. Generator is disassembled and removed.

Back home in their workshop they will replace the parts, test it, and re-install it in few days.

During these days, I need to clean the remaining covers. I’ll take the chance to treat the rusty spots with phosphoric acid and spray them white again.

And I have another beautiful work to do: cleaning of the engine room where the generator is located. It will take me half a day to a day.

Wikus, the other technician did not show up at all. I’m glad with my decision to use Gary’s people.

On Friday, Gary another technician came with his staff and we decided his 2 people come on Monday to repair the generator.

Yesterday, a sailor friend came and told me that Wikus the first technician who worked on MaRe, will also come on Monday to fix the engine and the sail drive. His father, who is scheduling Wikus did not contact me at all. Since more than a week I haven’t got any update of the situation. That’s a way to ruin the reputation of his son.

Robin, who is doing “privado” work at MaRe continues working. In the last 2 days he is doing fiber glass and gel coat work on the stern edges so I can fix the rub rail. Yesterday he also exchanged the first blackwater hose (US expression for toilet hose). He will continue on Monday. He is doing a good job at a fair price. I like him and we always have a cup of tea together.

Recently I had, beside boat work, to do some IT work; remotely this is possible.

What takes me a lot of time is cooking, baking, and keeping the kitchen clean. But when i see the bread they are selling here I happily bake my own bread. Fruits and vegetables are fine.

Down stairs my iguana friends, living close by between the rocks at the water edge, are enjoying some pieces of pineapple and other vegetable rests I throw towards paths the use often. Recently, they started fighting over the food. Such is animal life.

The WiFi connection i getting with my tiGo SIM card is not fast, but it works. So I have a good connection to my OBM in Tokyo, kids, friends, and can search – a bit slow so – the internet for things i need.

Not only does the technician not come to do the work for which he doesn’t need to get the spare part he tries to get, there is not even information on the possible schedule.

I got information about another technician and contacted him on Friday. Here I’m depending again on someone to reply to my email.

When will this nerve wracking dependency be finished?

I needed to inform my Japanese sailing friend Shi that we can’t sail together as planned in September because I don’t know when MaRe will be ready for a her splash back into water.

The only good thing is that I can do other work and this is progressing well.

The not moving things are the spare parts for the Volvo engine. Wikus, the technician, ordered the needed parts but could not get one.

There is the also genset work to be done for which all spare parts are on board. But Wikus’ father and scheduler doesn’t understand such a parallel working. It’s simply nerve wracking.

I’m doing a bunch of others tasks. These are the moving things.

Returned from Cartagena yesterday and have now the permission to stay another 3 month in Panama. Next time I’ll sail from San Blas Archipelago to Santa Marta.

I had to bake bread and get some vegetables and fruits from the lady who sells most days a week her produce in the marina. And then a bunch of small tasks.

Good news – Wikus, the technician, came shortly before noon to start working on MaRe. Things got started. He makes a pretty professional impression.

Bad news – the fishing line, which got caught in the PRT side propeller, did damage more than expected. First I thought that only the the shaft sealings of the propeller shaft need to be replaced.
When opening the saildrive, we saw that also 2 bearings need to be replaced. They got rusty from the entering seawater at the leaking shaft sealing. When removing the sail drive it was to be seen that the rubber of the rubber wheel at the engine exit side was broken as well. The part of the fishing line, which got deeper inside the saildrive, caused a to high load. I was just lucky that I could maneuver MaRe into the channel of the travel lift. As bad as this is, the good thing is that it is discovered, thus it can be repaired.

Tomorrow, Wikus will look for the needed spare parts.

I hope the “privado”-work doing guys will come tomorrow and prime the few spots, which need to be primed before the coppercoat patching can be done.

Planning in Panama is really difficult. It’s very strongly influenced by the Spanish “manana”, although this word is not used.

During the last month demonstrations in Panama against the rising prices and living conditions in general caused a lot of delays. Technicians could not come to the marina/shipyard. If I’m lucky the technician can come this week to MaRe so we can identify the sealings and gaskets needed. Then comes the order & delivery. I wonder how long this will take.

At the shipyard there are official workers. They approach boat owners and offer work done “privado” and do this work while other shipyard employees watch them. A real special world.

I am doing things myself but also get some things done “privado”.

Today I learned that my 3 month permission to stay in Panama cannot be extended. Thus, I need to fly for a few days to Cartagena, Colombia. Flight is booked. Hotel follows.

One of the nice things here is that a few days a week a local lady comes to the marina selling fruits and vegetables beside homemade souvenirs. The produce is fresh and the prices are ok.

I’ll keep you updated.

Schedule for haul out:

1. Thursday shifted to
2. Friday, shifted to
3. Saturday shifted to
4 Next Wednesday
Reason for shift to Wednesday: Need to purchase wood to put MaRe on her hulls to have the keels free for some coppercoat painting.
I use the time to organize things and work on an IT project for my wife’s company in Tokyo.

Since 3 days the entire Marina is without power. It’s said that during street work in the entrance area of the marina a the main cable was damaged. The building with office and restaurant is powdered with a diesel generator. Powering the docks weight diesel generators requires very big generators because of all the mainly US boats being fully air-conditioned.
Maybe going to church and pray speeds up the repair….

Solar charging is not so much. More than 90 % of the time the sky is fully overcast. Rain doesn’t come daily, but hourly. Sometimes real torrential rains with visibilities of around 50 m. It’s the wet season in Panama.

But the community here is friendly and supportive and has lots of useful information.